Cotton-gin.



'F'. RHELPS.

Patented Dec. 26, 191 1.

UNITED s'ra'rns PATENT onnrcn.

FRANK names, or LITTL ROCK, ARKANsAs corrolv-em.

To all whom it'may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK PHELPS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Little Rock, in the county of Pulaski and State of Arkansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton- Gins, of which the following is a specification. Y

The object of my 'inventionis to improve the construction and operation and increase the efficiency of gins in which the lint is stripped from the saws by an air blast.

Previous to my invention, air blast gins were constructed with a longitudinal blastpipe taking in the air at one end of the gin and discharging it laterally through the usual elongated blast-nozzle adjacent to the saws or gin-cylinder. The air rushing through the pipe caused an uneven pressure at thenozzle, the pressure increasing to ward the end of the gin farthest from the air inlet or receiving end of the pipe. This condition was only partially relieved by the use of bafile-wings or other obstructions in the air pipe,

Another and more serious difficulty was that eddy currents would occur at the mouth or in the intakeend of the lint off-take flue, tending to back up the lint which would be again picked up by the saws and deposited in the lower ends of the ribs. This is what is commonly known as back-lash, which has always been the cause of a great deal of trouble and danger, not only from injury to the machinery, but also because of the liability to start fires.

The above-mentioned difficulties are overcome by my present invention, which produces an even pressure along the entire length of the blast nozzle, and prevents the formation of the said objectionable and dangerous eddies in the mouth or throat of the lint flue; besides which my invention produces a very efiicient stripping blast with the use of a fan or blower of smaller-capacity than commonly required in gins of the character under discussion.

In the' accompanying drawing, which forms a part o'f-this specification! Figure 1 shows a gin embed my invention. in vertic'al cross section; ig. 2 is an enlarged view of the air blas't stripping 'ortion of the gin,

The' gin rsele'cted for illustrating the invention embodies in its construction the mot.-

ls; p

.e' ea ing r. adjustm nt 0t. my: prior:

atene hjfo. 809,131, dated Jan. 2, 1906.

Specification of Letters Patent.

simply becomes inflated My invention will be hereinafter de- Patented Dec. 26, 1911. Application filed. July 8, 1910. SeriaLNo. 571,081.

scribed with reference to. said drawing, and

then particularly pointedout in the appended claims,

' In the drawing, 1 is the roll-box, 2 the gin-cylinder or saws, and 3 the breast or v ribs.

4 is the moting chamber, 5 the divider board, and 6 the screw-conveyer of the cleaning attachment substantially as set fort-h in my prior Patent No. 809,131; the back portions of the saws being exposed in said chamber to permit ejection bycentrifugal force of motes, dust and other foreign particles which settle in the trough-like bottom of the chamberand are removed by the screw-conveyer.

Behind the gin-cylinder is an air-reservoir 7, which isor may be a box-like compartment of large capacity, extending the full length of the gin-cylinder. It has preferably in the back wall thereof an opening 8 for connection with the supply pipe through which the air is forced into the reservoir from the fan or other suitable type of blower (not shown). In a battery comprising a plurality of gin stands,theair is or may be conveyed through a main pipe, indicated at 9, running back of the severalgins and having separate branch pipes, one

of which is shown at 10, connected with the.

respective openings 8 of the several gins.

The air-reservoir is contracted at its front, as indicated at ll,'and terminates adjacent the gin-cylinder with an elongated slot-like nozzle 12 for emitting the stripping blast against the peripheral portions of the saws in the general direction of rotation thereof and approximately at a tangent. The blast-' 1162 e 12 is restricted as compared with the air inlet peni'ng 8; thus in a battery of four seventy-saw gin-stands, where the airreservoir of each gin is suppliedby a separate pipe,'the aggregate area of the four blast-nozzles is preferably equal to thearea of one four-inch pipe, it being understood that I do not intend to restrict myself to this or any particular proportions, however.

With this arrangement, the air has no tendency to rush through the air-chamber 01" reservoir as the openings are so small and the air-reservoir so lame that the latter Thus the air-reservoir 7 is. charged or stored with compressed air forced; thereinto by the blower; and, the '1 air being delivered into storage chamber through the gin-from end to end, there is produced at all times an even pressure along the entire length of .the blast-nozzle, overcoming what has been a difiicult'problem of previous constructions of air blast gins, in

which, as aforesaid, it has been necessary to use deflectors or obstructions in the airpipes to alleviate'th'e uneven pressure at the blast nozzle.

To control the blast and avoid back-lash by preventing the formation of eddies at .the mouth or in the throat of the lint-flue,-

I provide what maybe termed a windboard 13, having. a wide smooth surface over which the blast is blown. The said surface of the wind-board, convex or curved, extends from the lower lip of the blast-nozzle close to the saws and then beyond and away from the saws, the lower part of the wind-board being considerably below the blast nozzle. It is an established fact that a thin current of air projected over a smooth surface will follow the said surface, since the current tends to create a vacuum or suction the said surface and is thus subjected to unequal atmospheric pressures. Utilizing this principle in my invention, it will be seen that the blast following or blowing overthe smooth convex surf ace 0 board will blow the lint directly off the saw teeth and then downwardly and outwardly therefrom. The wind-board may be a wooden panel, or a metal plate, or other suitable member.

The wind-board extends well down into.

and forms the back wall of the throat 14: of the lint-flue. 15, which extends rearward under the air-reservoir. the-throat l t is formed by a curved extension 16 of the bottom wall of the lint-flue, which extension 16 passes under the lower edge of the wind-board, then upward in front of the lower portion of the windboard and terminates with a lip adjacent the gin-cylinder, so that a segmentof the surface of the gin-cylinder is substantially inclosed between the upper lip of the blastnozzle and the lower lip of thethroat of the lint-flue. The wind-board also extends beyond or below the top wall ofthe lint: flue, which, in the preferred construction illustrating my invention, is separated from the air-reservoir by a 'common partition Hence the narrow into an enlarged space'at 17 immediately back of the wind-board, relieving the air current as soon as .i't-passes under the lower edge of the wind-board. This sudden relief of the air current allows the eddy to occur ust bac'lc-of= the lower edge of the windboard, and prevents the formation of eddies in the throat of the lint-flue, so that the lint stripped by the blast from the saws passes which is preferably between 1t and the wind-.

The other wall of j having a'wide smooth surface over the stripping blast blows, and a lint oifta-ke throat 14; opens the up sion confronting-said surf the combination with the saws,

down through the narrow throat of the lintflue in a direct and practically straight line, and the danger of back-lash is thereby obviated.

By restricting the blast-nozzle and having a direct line for the stripping blast across the peripheries of the saws, without short curves, and having a large air-chamber in which the air is stored between the inlet and the blast-nozzle, I am enabled to use a much smaller fan and produce a much heavier pressure and also handle a considerably smaller volume of air, which, in itself, is a very great advantage, as it reduces the power at least fifty per cent., as compared with previous constructions of air blast gins, also enabling me to use a single thirty inch drum in the condenser carrying four seventy-saw gins with safety, as against a double thirty inch drum or single sixty inch drum as required in previous constructions. My invention may be embodied in other forms, and hence I do not desire to restrict myself to that shown.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

-1. In a gin having an air blast stripper, the combination with the gin-cylinder and blast nozzle for emitting the stripping blast against the peripheral portions of the saws, of a wind-board adjacent the gin-cylinder having a wide smooth surface over which the stripping blast blows, and a lint ofitake flue, the sald surface of the wind-board forming one wall of the throat of said flue.

2. In a gin having an air blast stripper, the combination with the gin-cylinder and blast nozzle for emitting the stripping blast against the peripheral portions of the saws, of a wind-board adjacent the gin-cylinder which flue having a narrow throat, one wall of which is provided by the wind-board, the lint -flue being enlarged immediately back of the wind-board.

3. In a gin having an air blast stripper, the combination with the saws, ofan air chamber back of the saws having a blastnozzle for emitting a stripping blast, a rearwardly extendin lint-flue under said air chamber, a win -board arranged adjacent the saws under the blast nozzle and having a smooth surface over whichthe blast is projectedosaid wind-board extending below per wall of thelint-fiue, the lower wall ofthe lint-flue having a curved extenace of. the windboard and in conjunction therewith providing a narrow throat to the lint-flue.

4:. In a gin having an air blast stripper,

take 'flue, an air=ohamber having a blastnozzle for emitting a stripping blast against the peripheral portions of the saws and into the throatfof the hint flee, adjacent ,;the saws surface eiirtending from t and a wind-board havingl a smooth convex e lower li of the blast-nozzle into-the throat of the and forming one wall of the latter. 5. 111 an air-blast gin, the combination with the gin-cylinder, of an air-reservoir having a blastqnozzle for emitting a stripping last, means for forcing air into the air-reservoir at the middle portion thereof, a lint-flue havin a throat into which the blast dischar es, an means for guidin the blast aqioss t e saw-perimeters in a ect line from the blast nozzle into the throat of the v lint-flue, the lint-flue being enlarged back of the base of the lint throat to suddenly relieve the current and prevent eddies in the throat of the lint-flue. v

6. In an air blast gin, the combination with the gin-cylinder, ,sfi an air-chamber having a blast-nozzle and a wind-board having a wide smooth surface extending. close to the gin-cylinder and beyond and away therefrom, the blast-nozzle being arranged for directing the blast over said surface, whereby the blast blows the lint directly off and away from the saw teeth.

7. In an air blast gin, the combination with the gin-cylinder, of an air-chamber havin a nozzle arranged for emitting a stripping blast against the geripheral portions of the saws, and a win a smooth convex surface extending from the lower lip of the blast-nozzle close'to and beyond the ortion of the gin-cylinder from which the lmt is stripped. 8. In an air blast gin, with the gin-cylinder, of an having a b a stripping blast, a wind-board adjacent the gimcylinder having a wide smooth surface over which the blast is directed, and a lint flue the throat of which is formed in part by the said surface of the wind-board, there being a space back of the wind-board in communication with the athroat of the air-chamber est-nozzle arranged for emitting lint-flue whereby the current it relieved and I eddies are prevented inysaid throat.

In testimon whereof I afiix my signature,

two witnesses.

FRANK PHELPS.

Witnesses:

H. A. BABBrr'r, H. S. BILDEBBACK.

l in-presence o -board having the combination 

